Chemotherapy Hair Loss and Hair Dids! My Natural Image.

Chemotherapy Hair Loss and Hair Dids!

Bringing it back to the old skool ?? #selfie #newhairdontcare #brunette

Well hair it is! For those that are not familiar with the cancer chapter of my story, in brief I discovered a swollen gland near my left collar bone around early Summer of 2014.

The gland didn’t go down as it should and months later at the end of September after yo-yoing to and from the GP and Hospital following a fine needle biopsy it was confirmed that I had Hodgkins Lymphoma Stage 4B advanced.

Hodgkins Lymphoma is a “curable” cancer which effects the lymph nodes. Chemo didn’t begin until Wednesday 12th November 2014, I had my final dose of chemo on Wednesday 15th April 2015 and I was given the best news of complete remission in June 2015.

It wasn’t something that I shared with everyone until near my very last session of chemotherapy. And so I posted this instagram image on the 13th January 2015, which was at least 4 chemo’s in wearing not my first wig ever, but my first ever wig from Natural Image. Nobody knew!

I had always played around with hair pieces and wigs as being into hairdressing and posing it was all hand in hand. I had a reasonably good insight into what works and what doesn’t, but now having buzz cut my own hair off as the shedding from the treatment was getting tiresome, wearing a wig without my own hair underneath was a new experience, along with wanting it to look as real as possible.

I went through the bob then pixie to the buzz cut in anticipation of the inevitable and with the help of a fabulous wig consultant at my cancer unit I chose a style and colour that was similar to my own before the shortening cuts. I also chose a high quality wig, knowing what a cheap wig was like, plus wanting daily wear it had to be right and it had to be comfortable.

One thing I learned and that I cannot stress enough is the importance of buying high quality when you are looking for a natural looking wig and that doesn’t necessarily mean real human hair either, it’s all in the cap. And the frontal! The what?! Yes exactly, the wig World is a whole new one!

The wig I chose was made with synthetic hair, completely hand tied, with a monofilament cap and all importantly a lace front. YUP! Time to learn!

Cap – This is what goes onto your head and scalp, the wig hair is hand-tied or sewn onto the wig cap.

Hand-tied – Recommended if you have hair loss as it is soft against your head, my previous wigs when I had hair were all wefted. You would totally feel a wefted wig on a newly buzz cut and bald head. The art of hand tying hair to a wig cap is one of the most intricate ways for a wigmaker to make a wig, so that’s where the time is spent BUT it is entirely worth your investment.

Monofilament – A cap that is monofilament, or has a top section that is, will give the impression the hair is coming from your own parting and scalp. Another factor that helps in making your wig look as natural as possible

Synthetic Hair – Synthetic hair isn’t what it used to be, in most cases with a wig of high quality it is difficult to tell if it is synthetic or real. Synthetic hair can often be worn right out of the box with little or no styling. WIN! (Pssst! And much cheaper, by a good decimal point than a high quality real hair wig).

Lace Front – My love for the lace front will never fade! Lace fronts are perfect in every way, with no worries about gusty winds or styling the fringe away from your face (as pictured above). A good lace front wig will ensure that your look will be undetectable. YAY!

And to quote the fabulous Ru Paul:

Believe me when I say that make up and faux hair are a magical thing of wonder.

I wasn’t going to allow cancer or chemotherapy to make the decision of letting people know about what I was going through before I was ready to do so. And thanks to the right investment in a high quality wig, it didn’t stand a chance.